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TRANSCRIPT
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TED ANKARA COLLEGE FOUNDATION PRIVATE HIGH
SCHOOL
PHILOSOPHY
EXTENDED ESSAY
Candidate Name: Mehmet Emir Göka
Candidate Number: D1129031
Supervisor Name: Fikriye Müge Dölek
Word Count: 3929
Research Question: Influence of Relativism and Nihilism emerged in Nietzsche‟s
philosophy through his dethroning of “Truth”: Traces of inertia or inspirations to create?
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Abstract:
Until the 19th century the doctrines “relativism” and “nihilism” are harshly despised among
some philosophical arenas such as Platonism, Neo-Platonism, Scholasticism and the
Enlightenment Movement. This is because relativism and nihilism undermine the very
concept of “Truth”. Relativism is ignored as it is considered to be paradoxical and
theoretically indefensible. Nihilism is accused of hindering creation but promoting
pessimism. In the 19th century, through the counter-enlightenment movement, relativism
and nihilism became pervasive in the philosophical environment. Friedrich Nietzsche is one
of the most prominent philosophers who made use of both relativism and nihilism in his
philosophy. Hence, although his thoughts are too elusive to be imprisoned in a philosophical
doctrine; he is alleged to be a nihilist by some or a relativist by other interpreters.1 As a
result of this unfair assertion a negative prejudice is formed against Nietzsche.
In this extended essay, the intent is to analyze the extent to which relativism and nihilism
influence Nietzsche’s philosophy, and how Nietzsche transcends the two concepts and opens
up the way to a more creative world. The first section of the essay is the introduction to the
concepts of “becoming” and “interpretation”, which have a crucial role in understanding
Nietzsche’s philosophy. The second section is in 6 subheadings and is devoted to Nietzsche’s
dethroning of “Truth”; his philosophy and its similarities with relativism and nihilism,
1 For nihilism see: Arthur Danto’s discussion of Nietzsche in “Nietzsche as Philosopher” pp.68-99 or “Nietzsche
and Theology: Nietzschean Thought in Christological Anthropology”, David Deane, 2006, p: 29. For relativism
see: Maria Baghramian, Relativism, Routledge, 2004, pp. 60-61.
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together with his struggle to overcome these two philosophical doctrines and his inspiring of
people to create. The last section is the conclusion.
247 Words
Table of Contents:
Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………...p. 1
Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………………….p. 3
Section I
Becoming and Interpretation………………………………………………………………...p. 5
Section II
1. Nietzsche Against “Truth”…………………………………………………………..p. 7
1.1 Religion and Metaphysics…………………………………………...……………...p. 8
1.2 Pre-Nietzsche Philosophers………………………………………………………....p. 9
2. The Will To Power…………………………………………………………………..p. 9
2.1 Nietzsche Against Himself………………………………………...………………p. 10
3. The Main Similarity Between Nietzsche’s Philosophy and Relativism: Multiplicity of
Truths………………………………………………………………………………p. 11
4. Overcoming Relativism: “Enhancement of Power” with Relation to the “Value For
Life”………………………………………………………………………………..p. 12
5. Nihilism and Revaluation…………………………………………………..………p. 14
6. Nietzsche as an Inspirer of Creation……………………………………………….p. 16
Section III
Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………p. 17
Bibliography………………………………………………………………………………..p. 19
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Acknowledgements:
First and foremost I would like to thank to Fikriye Müge Dölek for being my supervisor and
for her indispensible guidance through this thesis.
Also I owe great thanks to the Bilkent University for letting me use the Bilkent Library which
has crucial sources about Nietzsche.
Last and the most important, I am grateful to Devrim Kaya, my philosophy master. He is the
one who introduce me with philosophy’s brilliance and teach me how to find my way in “the
labyrinth”. I know that all of these words are so shameless beside the things you have taught
to me; but I merely want to thank you with intimacy.
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Dedicated to My Mother Şule Yenigün
“What is well-known is not necessarily known merely because it is well-known.” - Hegel.
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Section I
Becoming and Interpretation
Concepts of becoming and interpretation have an indispensable role in Nietzsche’s
philosophy; therefore one must primarily clarify them when writing about Nietzsche. In
Nietzsche’s point of view everything becomes. Things do not have a true, stable character or
an essence in themselves, as Nietzsche calls the “thing-in-itself”, which make things
something firm; conversely things are always in a change. This thought of Nietzsche has its
roots in the Heraclitean idea claiming that a person cannot get into the same river twice.
Because, by means of the continual “flux” in the river, every moment the water, the stones,
the dirt and the sand in the river changes. Thus the river itself is in a continual change.
Moreover, in a medicinal perspective, as every moment people are getting more and more
older; the one who get into the river will not be the same person a second later. Therefore,
we could say that neither the river nor the person who get into the river will stay the same.
In Nietzsche’s perspective this consistent change in Heraclitus’ example of river can be seen
in the entire world. For Nietzsche, this eternal change is the “flux” of life in which everything
“becomes” and nothing stays stable.2 Except the theoretical arguments of Nietzsche in favor
2 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, trans. Water Kaufmann, sec. 111.
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of his concept of “becoming”, there are discoveries in modern science which are advocating
the concept of “becoming”. For instance, through modern physics, we now know that things
consist of atoms and atoms consist of protons, neutrons and electrons. Among these, the
most crucial particle advocating Nietzsche’s and Heraclitus’ thesis of “becoming” is electron.
Electrons are always moving sub-atomic particles and their speed is approaching to the
speed of light in Einstein’s theory of “special relativity”. The movement of an electron is
basically chaotic and indeterminable; because electrons do not have a stable orbit in which
they move according to a rule. Furthermore, in an empiric perspective, an observing person
cannot say that “the electron A is there” implying a precise place. Because, at the very
moment he had observed the electron A at a precise place, the electron A is at somewhere
else. In my perspective this confusing, non-stop motion of electrons makes this world
incomprehensible and chaotic. However, because we perceive things as firm and unchanging
wholes; we think that the world is not chaotic in anyway. Nevertheless, the fact that our
sense apparatuses are too poor to see the always moving electrons, do not affect the
consequences of the chaotic electron movement demonstrating that Nietzsche’s concept of
“becoming” is a gravely strong thesis. Through these observations one crucial question
emerges: “How can one be certain about something when everything is consistently
changing?” One cannot. In Nietzsche’s ever-changing world, absolute certainty is absolute
ignorance. Because, one cannot speak of certainty as his mouth is constantly changing. The
ultimate result of this philosophical and physical “becoming”, change; is an
incomprehensible world in which we cannot be truly sure of anything. Nietzsche’s concept of
“interpretation” emerges here: As we cannot be sure of anything, there can be no facts. As
claims Nietzsche: “There are no facts, everything is in flux, incomprehensible, elusive”.3 The
3 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 604.
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things we call facts or truths are merely our interpretation for making this incomprehensible
world more intelligible, “more logical”.4 For example, if the so called fact “a day is 24 hours”
is evaluated, it will be seen that it is just an empiric interpretation only valid for a particular
time. Scientists found that the motion of the world slows down as time passes. 530 million
years ago world’s motion was faster; therefore a year was 420 days and a day was 21 hours.5
Therefore thousands of years later, if the world and humanity still exist, the time values of a
year and a day will be extremely different from 21st century’s time values. That is to say, we
create “facts” through our interpretation to make this chaotic world livable. But then,
Nietzsche says, we must not forget that all so called facts or truths of humanity is created
through a perspective and therefore they are “only interpretations”.6
Section II
1. Nietzsche Against “Truth”
Nietzsche’s “perspectivism” enunciates that there are no uninterpreted truths including
Nietzsche’s own philosophy.7 Hence, Nietzsche is against the notions that assert having a
permanent “Truth”. In Nietzsche’s philosophy there are two types of truths: First one is
eternal, unchanging, indestructible and immutable as “Truth”. Other one is flexible and
pragmatic as “truth”. The phrases “Truth” and “truth” are not created by Nietzsche;
however some interpreters of him use these words to express his complex thoughts in an
easier way. The best way to discriminate between these two concepts is to handle the
4 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 521.
5 http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/dunya/8572550.asp. retrieved in 11.11.2010.
6 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 481.
7 Alan D. Schrift, Nietzsche and The Question of Interpretation, 145.
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concept of God and our ritual deed of christening. God is a “Truth” for Nietzsche; because
God is thought to be unchanging and everlasting which is contradictory to the permanent
change in the universe. Besides in Nietzsche’s perspective the creed of God is not pragmatic;
because it dominates over people, inhibiting their creative deeds. Similar to the concept of
God, our names are unchanging and everlasting too; which also contradicts with the concept
of becoming. Because, as people are constantly changing then their names must change too.
However, if every person has his/her name changed at every moment, no one can
communicate with each other. Moreover if humans’ names are to change depending on the
change in the world; we cannot know who wrote the “Hamlet” or even who has found the
“concept of becoming”. Thus in a Nietzschean perspective our names are pragmatic even
they are unchanging; which means that they are “truths”. When perusing Nietzsche’s
philosophy making an accurate interpretation of which truth he strives to undermine is
crucial. Nietzsche wills to subvert the first one; because belief in “Truth” is a grave weakness
for human beings as it is both ruling and comforting them by granting people an absolute
value which is denying the flux of life and the smallness of people’s own existence in the
cosmos.8 Moreover for Nietzsche those “Truths” lost their utility long ago and they have
become baleful.
1.1 Religion and Metaphysics
The most “Truth” insisting notion is religion; since most of the religions are created for
worshipping an eternal, omnipotent and omniscient God. Naturally Nietzsche found this
thought merely naive and maleficent. For Nietzsche God is created by man thousands of
years ago to clarify incomprehensible phenomena as lightning, eclipse, earthquake and was
8 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 4.
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forgotten that it was human creation.9 Not only God but also all the metaphysical, univocal
“Truths” such as soul, evil, good et cetera are “all-too-human” facts. Because they are
created at ancient times and used for many ages, they are regarded as eternal and have
become firm “Truths”.
“Will to truth is a making firm, a making true and durable, an
abolition of the false character of things, a reinterpretation of it into
beings. ‘Truth’ is therefore not something there, that might be
found or discovered- but something that must be created.”10
Therefore in Nietzsche’s perspective metaphysics is not a “Truth”; it is merely fiction created
by human, and therefore it must remain as fiction, otherwise it will be gravely harmful (as it
was recorded in history during Crusades) and must be annihilated.
1.2 Pre-Nietzsche Philosophers
As Nietzsche is against “Truth” he is also against the ones who try to impose their “Truth” to
others. For most of the past, pre-Nietzsche, philosophers the concept of becoming is chaotic,
baleful and therefore licentious.11 Because most of the past philosophers seek for the one
“Truth” that could explain everything. They named the things “good” if those things are
advocating the existence of the “Truth” and “evil” if they are not. Hence, in Nietzsche’s
perspective they weaken themselves and their believers on the track of an illusion:
9 Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, trans. Judith Norman, Pr.
10 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 552.
11 Stephen Houlgate, Hegel, Nietzsche and The Criticism of Metaphysics, 43.
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“Plato, … wanted to use all his strength to prove to himself that reason and the instincts
converge independently on a single goal, on the Good, or “God”; and, ever since Plato, all
theologians and philosophers have been on the same track.”12
This timeworn search for “Truth” is malicious and nonsense in Nietzsche’s point of view.
Therefore Nietzsche set forth his argument against the “Truth” insisting notions and
philosophers who are baleful and harmful for the humanity.
2. The Will to Power
Nietzsche puts forward the “will to power” as his most persuasive thesis which is stultifying,
weakening the assertions of the “metaphysicians” and the “Truth” provoking ideas of the
pre-Nietzsche philosophers. For Nietzsche there is no God, there is no “ideal world” but
wherever there is life there is will to power. Because, in Nietzsche’s point of view life itself is
will to power as living is a struggle for more power.13 Hence if there is a “Truth”, it absolutely
is ‘the will to power’ in Nietzsche’s perspective. At the last sentence of his book “The Will to
Power” there writes: “This world is the will to power --- and nothing besides! And you
yourselves are also this will to power --- and nothing besides!”14 But there arises a big
dilemma; with this sentence it seems as if Nietzsche himself thrones the “Truth” which he
had dethroned. So does ‘the will to power’ turn out to be the “Truth” of Nietzsche?
2.1 Nietzsche Against Himself
12
Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil, trans. Judith Norman, sec. 191.
13 Ruediger Hermann Grimm, Nietzsche’s Theory of Knowledge, 5.
14 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 1067.
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The first one to assert that Nietzsche is a metaphysician and his “Truth” is the will to power
is a prominent philosopher: Martin Heidegger. By virtue of Nietzsche’s majestic praises to his
own thought of “will to power”, Heidegger sentenced Nietzsche for having a “Truth”:
“Nietzsche, the thinker of the thought of will to power, is the last metaphysician of the
West.”15 Heidegger had his justifiable reasons for calling Nietzsche as the last metaphysician
of the west; however when Nietzsche is perused in-depth it will be a better interpretation to
say that he does not have a “Truth”. Because Nietzsche admits that all the things
constituting his philosophy are merely fictions not “Truths”. As Nietzsche says in his book
“Will to Power”: “There exists neither "spirit," nor reason, nor thinking, nor consciousness,
nor soul, nor will, nor truth: all are fictions that are of no use.”16 Furthermore at the
beginning of the section in which Nietzsche puts forward the idea that “this world is will to
power”, he writes: “And do you know what “the world” is to me? Shall I show it to you in
my mirror?”17 Therefore blaming Nietzsche for being a metaphysician is merely a naïve act
which corrupts and limits the rich Nietzschean text. Nietzsche’s concept of “will to power” is
not a “Truth”; it is only one of the infinite numbers of “truths”. Nietzsche created the will to
power as a metaphor and he left the door open for new creations, new truths. Will to power
is only how Nietzsche sees the world; it is an exactly eligible interpretation but like
everything it cannot be generalized to all places and all times. Hence, for Nietzsche there is
no “Truth” but there are “truths”.
15
Martin Heidegger, Nietzsche, Volume III, trans. John Stambaugh, David Farell Krell, Frank A.
Capuzzi, 8.
16 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 480.
17 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 1067.
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3. The Main Similarity Between Nietzsche’s Philosophy and Relativism:
Multiplicity of Truths
In its most strong form relativism is the philosophical doctrine that propounds: Including this
one all judgments are relative.18
For a relativist each judgment is context-dependent and only
valid for the person who made it under the specific circumstances. Therefore relativism
argues that there exist no absolute truths that are not relative. On the other hand as every
judgment is relative, for the relativist doctrine, there are many truths none of which are more
privileged than the others. As Nozick directly hits the target: “Relativism is egalitarian.”19
In
Nietzsche‟s philosophical doctrine, perspectivism, there are significant similarities with
relativism. Both of them refuse the existence of a “Truth,” they both put forward the idea of
“truths” instead of “Truth”. Hence, either of them advocates the idea of “multiplicity of
truths”. As Nietzsche puts it: “There are many kinds of eyes. Even the sphinx has eyes-- and
consequently there are many kinds of "truths," and consequently there is no truth.”20
When taken into consideration the idea of multiplicity of “truths” which has a great effect in
Nietzsche‟s philosophy, it is explicit that relativism plays a major role in Nietzsche‟s
philosophy. However Nietzsche‟s philosophy is not egalitarian like relativism. One can easily
ignore relativism. As a relativist accepts that a judgment is only valid for the person who
believes it, s/he cannot defend or recommend the thought of relativism in any sense.
Moreover, in the relativist doctrine there is no criteria to evaluate which thought is better. Any
thought is true for anyone who believes that thought to be true. In other words every true is
“self-true” in relativism. Therefore no thought could be more logical than the other.
Theoretically this deadlock as a trace of “inertia” could lead to extremely dangerous
18
Maria Baghramian, Relativism, 7.
19 Robert Nozick, Invariances: The Structure of the Objective World, 19.
20 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 540.
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consequences. For instance, in a relativistic perspective there can be no difference between
Nazism and Liberalism; even though one advocates strict fascism and the other one,
theoretically, advocates human liberty. Hence for a relativist, the supporters of Nazism are
not obliged to give up their beliefs no matter how terrible problems it may cause. Therefore it
is definite that relativism lacks the needed criteria for judgment which proves to be the
Achilles heel of the doctrine; and which, in my point of view, could be very harmful in means
of both humanity and philosophy. Therefore, accusing Nietzsche‟s perspectivism for being
tantamount to relativism, as Maria Baghramian did21
, just because Nietzsche benefited from
the rich parts of the relativistic doctrine is merely corrupting Nietzsche‟s text. Because,
Nietzsche has his “determining criteria” to judge.
4. Overcoming Relativism: “Enhancement of Power” with Relation to the
“Value For Life”
In Nietzsche’s perspective something is “true” if it enhances your feeling of power.22 In other
words, like everything else “truth” is a function of power and the more something enhances
your power, “truer” it becomes.23 However, here the word “power” is confusing as
something may be powerful for Mr/s. A, but not for Mr/s. B. Then how are we to decide
which statement or deed is more “true”? The answer is: the thing that enhances your power
can be taken as “truth” or determined to be “true” if it is “valuable for life”. “Truth is the
kind of error without which a certain species of life could not live. The value for life is
ultimately decisive.”24 As mentioned earlier truths are merely our interpretations, creations
to make this world of becoming more comprehensible. Therefore without truths we are not
21
Maria Baghramian, Relativism, 60.
22 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 534.
23 Ruediger Hermann Grimm, Nietzsche’s Theory of Knowledge, 19.
24 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 493.
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able to live, yet these truths are not “Truths” but “truths”. That is to say “truths” are
pragmatic as they are necessary for survival, essential to cope with the “flux”. Thus, they
maintain their validity as long as they maintain their utility, their “value for life”. One great
example for this is the ancient thought asserting that the world is flat. The thought of flat
world is necessary for the people living there and then; because it explained a lot of things.
Hence, in my perspective, Nietzsche would say “flat world” was fruitful for these people and
it was valuable for life. Nevertheless, after scientists prove that the world is spherical
shaped, the thought of flat world is not pragmatic anymore, it loses its value for life and its
time as a “truth” ended. Accordingly, Nietzsche’s term of “value for life” is very similar to the
pragmatism doctrine. If something is valuable for life, it is fruitful and can be taken as a
“truth” until its fruitfulness is over. Since, when a thought or ideology lost its utility, people
who insist on believing it become weak as they are deceiving themselves tracking an illusion
which later becomes their interpretation, meaning of life. For Nietzsche every interpretation
is a sign of growth or decline and interpretations which create a “Truth” lead to the influence
of “inertia”, inner decline.25 Thus, interpretations or thoughts or deeds which are not
valuable for life are also weakening and therefore “false”. Hence, Nietzsche definitely does
not get trapped into the “void of relativism” in which there is no chance of being “more
true”. On the contrary he benefited from the emancipating thoughts of relativism brilliantly
in his philosophy; in a wider context.
5. Nihilism and Revaluation
25
Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 600.
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As implied in its name originated from the Latin word „nihili‟ meaning “nothing”, nihilism is
the philosophical doctrine suggesting the denial and negation of some or all meaningful
aspects of thought or life.26
The role of nihilism is explicit and crucial in Nietzsche‟s
philosophy. Nietzsche believes that “the advent of nihilism” is inevitable and gravely
necessary.27
Because for him, the past values of humanity have turned into “Truths” which
hinder new creations, new “truths” to be made. Thus we are stuck into those corrupted past
values, antediluvian thoughts and beliefs which have already lost their value for life.
Therefore in Nietzsche‟s perspective the traditional and “truthful” (true-in-itself) values of the
past must be annihilated and the way to the annihilation gets through the advent of nihilism.
Hence Nietzsche praises nihilism as it already denies all the “truthful” past values:
“[N]ihilism, as the denial of a truthful world, of being, might be a divine way of
thinking.”28
Then as the ultimate leading point of nihilism, the madman in “The Gay
Science” announces the “death of God” and that we all are murderers of him.29
When
Nietzsche‟s praises for nihilism and the devaluation of all the previously dominant values are
combined with the manifestation of the “death of God” there formed misinterpretations of the
Nietzschean doctrine. Some interpreters of Nietzsche thought that his ultimate intent was to
reach the peak of nihilism by undermining all the truths and values which is a gravely
pessimistic act, leading to absolute meaninglessness, “inertia”: “Nietzsche thus assails all
notions of truth and order, dismantling them and leaving nothing. In this sense Nietzsche is
a nihilist.”30
Furthermore, Nietzsche‟s calling himself as “the first perfect nihilist”31
constituted one of the most important grounds for these misinterpretations. However, that
26
The Shorter Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2005, 741.
27 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, Pr. sec. 2.
28 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 15.
29 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Gay Science, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 125.
30 David Deane, Nietzsche and Theology: Nietzschean Thought in Christological Anthropology, 29.
31 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, Pr. sec. 3.
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ground is not strong enough to last. First of all Nietzsche‟s killing of God is merely a
metaphor like his all other terms. It does not mean that he pessimistically undermines all the
values in the life or that “everything is permitted”; it means that people have already lost their
belief in the higher values, “Truths”. Therefore, people annihilated the higher values,
“Truths”, as they murdered the God, on their own. Second and the more important; Nietzsche
called himself the perfect nihilist because he is the first one to understand that nihilism is not
the aim itself but it is merely a very necessary historical stage.
“Nihilism as a normal phenomenon can be a symptom of
increasing strength or of increasing weakness:
1. As a sign of strength and self-control, as being able to do without
healing, comforting worlds of illusion;
2. as undermining, dissecting, disappointing, weakening.”32
In these words of Nietzsche it is explicit that the form of nihilism which only strives to
undermine is weakening for him. For Nietzsche one must not stop after the historical stage of
nihilism is completed and all the “Truths” are dethroned. This means, Nietzsche devaluates to
revaluate.
“Why has the advent of nihilism become necessary? Because the
values we have had hitherto thus draw their final consequence… We
must experience nihilism before we can find out what value these
“values” really had. We require, sometime, new values.”33
32
Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 585.
33 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, Pr. sec. 4.
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That is to say, only after the stage of nihilism there forms the unique possibility of creating a
new world, new values, new “truths”, new forms of thinking: the “revaluation of all values”.34
6. Nietzsche as an Inspirer of Creation
Throughout the parts analyzing the role of relativism and nihilism in Nietzsche‟s philosophy it
is seen that Nietzsche never falls into the “void of inertia” although he dethrones the “Truth”
similarly to both of the doctrines. Because Nietzsche‟s aim is not to demonstrate that life is
meaningless or to subvert peoples will to make judgments. He strives to explain that creations
of human always corrupt in time and turn into “Truths”. Therefore people must always
undermine what they have created; and then create something new. Only through this way
man will not idolize what he creates and for Nietzsche the way to this kind of eternal creation
can only be realized through art: “Our religion, morality and philosophy are decadence
forms of man. The countermovement: art.”35
Thus the humanity can unshackle from its
weaknesses and enrich their individual existence. This will of Nietzsche, to create a humanity
that always creates, can be perceived in his way of writing too. Although this kind of
judgment is subjective; for me and for many interpreters of Nietzsche, he is the most poetic
philosopher who can write remarkably well and metaphorical. A great example for
Nietzsche‟s poetic writing and his praises for art is Nietzsche‟s description of the world he
wills to create: “The world as a work of art that gives birth to itself”.36
Also through this
sentence, Nietzsche explicitly set forth that his love of wisdom inspires a world like an art
work which always transvalue itself and can never be corrupted in any sense. Thus Nietzsche
inspires creation through art and hence he is not imprisoned to the indifference of relativism
and pessimism of nihilism.
34
Michael Allen Gillespie, Heidegger’s Nietzsche, Political Theory Vol. 15, 425.
35 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 794.
36 Friedrich Nietzsche, The Will to Power, trans. Walter Kaufmann, sec. 796.
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Section III
Conclusion
As can be understood from the analysis in section II, the philosophical doctrines relativism
and nihilism have a great influence on Nietzsche‟s philosophy; because through these two
doctrines Nietzsche founded his philosophy and he undermined the “Truth” which hinder new
creations to be made by dominating the humanity. However, unlike relativism and nihilism,
Nietzsche did not stop after he dethroned the “Truth”. Because he saw that the fragile part of
relativism and nihilism were their consequences leading to “inertia”. For a philosopher who
has great praises for art and for the deed of creation, “inertia” is an unacceptable condition.
Hence, as it can be seen in the last chapter of the section II, Nietzsche benefited the doctrines
relativism and nihilism to inspire other people to create new values, new interpretations. This
deed of creation is crucial for Nietzsche as he thinks that a revaluation of all the past values of
humanity is needed. Therefore, people must stop worshipping the past values which have
become “Truths” and start to create new interpretations of the world, of human, of everything
just like a work of art. Because art never dominates or forces people. So an artist-humanity
will always have new forms of thinking and new creations which can never become “Truths”
and hence never compel people to believe in them. In his book “Thus Spoke Zarathustra”
Nietzsche says: “Whatever I may create and however I may love it – soon I must oppose it
and my love, thus my will wants it.”37
In these words, Nietzsche explains that what is created
must be annihilated as it will be corrupted in time and can become a “Truth”; and then
something new, something better and more pragmatic must be created. Only through this way
the values of humanity can preserve their benefit in the “always becoming world”. Ultimately,
together with the last parts of the thesis which explicitly demonstrate Nietzsche‟s will to
37
Friedrich Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra, trans. Adrian del Caro, 90.
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create and even love to create; it could be said that after his dethroning of “Truth” Nietzsche
do not get trapped into the “void of inertia” in relativism and nihilism, on the contrary he
benefited them in his philosophy to create a philosophy that inspires people to create.
Word Count: 3929
Bibliography:
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